Archives for European Union

The economic crisis remains a top priority for Eurozone with the current consolidation model generating much more problems than solutions. Greece has been forced to adopt a third bailout deal, but the ruling Syriza party resists towards protecting the most affected ones, while unfolding the deadlock that austerity politics have caused to an increasing number… » read more

Bridging Europe published last Friday the first poll towards snap elections in September 20. It is very early and unsafe to provide a solid assessment, but two things are certain: first, undecided voters will define the final turnout; second, coalition government is the most probable scenario. Syriza Alexis Tsipras is the most popular among Greek… » read more

Taking a really short break from the developments in Greece and Eurozone, I hereby present my paper published by the International Centre for Black Sea Studies (ICBSS) in the aftermath of the successful organization of the 7th International Black Sea Symposium on “Perspectives on Tourism in the Black Sea Area” that was held on 16-18… » read more

The month-long negotiations between the Greek government and Eurozone ended up temporarily with the adoption of a 4-month extension of the current bailout program during which the Greek government is bound to undertake a specific course of action regarding these structural reforms that will convince the creditors that Greece is ready to receive the… » read more

One step before reaching an agreement (?) on Greece’s bailout program, the government dispatched today the revised proposal including the extension of the current loan agreement for the next six (6) months, while introducing a moratorium in the implementation of new austerity measures suggested by troika last November. Meanwhile, the ECB decided yesterday to extend… » read more

Time always matter. In 1946 Great Britain’s PM Winston Churchill gave a speech at the University of Zurich pointing out the paramount need for the creation of the “United States of Europe”. The statement of Churchill came after an unprecedentedly devastating war that destroyed Europe in political, human, and economic level. Almost 60 years later,… » read more

These last days we have witnessed a growing “statement war” over the possible outcome of the negotiations in this Wednesday’s Eurogroup and the possibility of “Grexit”. This term that has been so easily used in unofficial statements and media coverage to stir anxiety in the markets and fear in the Greek and European public is… » read more

And here it is now that we are starting pondering on different alternatives on how to manage the debt of Greece and Eurozone. In an interview with The Financial Times, the Greek Minister of Finance Yanis Varoufakis introduced the term “perpetual bond” to explain his plan to ease Greece’s immense debt burden. As the confrontation… » read more

The pressure on the new Greek government is immense since the first day in power. A growing pressure that stems from every possibly side: from international media; from EU leaders; from opinion-makers; from the market; domestically in Greece, from different voices proclaiming themselves “democrats” that vie for the future of Greece, its citizens, its prosperity,… » read more

It has been months since the President of ECB Mario Draghi has announced his intention to implement the so-called “quantitative easing”, adopting a similar decision of the US Fed to calm down pressures over the bonds market. So far his intention / decision has been blocked by Germany and Chancellor Merkel, who is reluctant to… » read more

About: Dimitris Rapidis

Dimitris is thoroughly involved in the analysis of the Greek financial crisis in Eurozone, the political and geopolitical shifts globally, with emphasis in EU and MENA region. His analyses and interviews have been featured in national, European and regional broadcasting networks, media, and journals, such as Bloomberg, Euronews, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, El Pais, Publico, El Mundo, La Razon, Sputnik, Russia Today, Newsweek, Financier Worldwide, Die Welt, Handelsblatt, BBC, Nouvel Observateur, Anadolu Agency, Hurriyet, among others.

He has studied political science and international affairs at the Universities of Athens and Geneva. Dimitris is founding member of the Research Committee on Geopolitics (RC-41) of the International Political Science Association, and the Model of the European Union of the Galatasary University. He has been a guest speaker at numerous international academic and governmental conferences, summer schools and symposia in Europe.